FILE- In this Sept. 10, 2013 file photo, the Tribute in Light rises above buildings during a test in New York. While the plaza at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum will be closed to the public, during the September 11 commemoration ceremony and much of the rest of the day, it will be open from 6 p.m. to midnight for those who want to pay respects and view one of the anniversary's most evocative traditions, the twin beams called the Tribute in Light. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) ORG XMIT: NYR301 less

FILE- In this Sept. 10, 2013 file photo, the Tribute in Light rises above buildings during a test in New York. While the plaza at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum will be closed to the public, ... more

Photo: Mark Lennihan

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FILE- In this Sept. 10, 2013 file photo, the Tribute in Light rises into the night sky during a test in New York. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum will be closed to the public during the September 11 commemoration ceremony and much of the rest of the day, but it will be open from 6 p.m. to midnight for anyone who wants a close up view of the Tribute in Light. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) ORG XMIT: NYR302 less

FILE- In this Sept. 10, 2013 file photo, the Tribute in Light rises into the night sky during a test in New York. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum will be closed to the public during the September ... more

Photo: Mark Lennihan

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FILE- In this Sept. 9, 2013 file photo made with a long exposure, a test of the twin beams of the Tribute in Light intersect with still-under construction Tower One in New York, as they rise behind the building and above. Anyone wishing to experience the Tribute in Light up close will have the opportunity as the public will be admitted to the plaza at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum from 6 p.m. to midnight on Sept. 11, 2014. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File) ORG XMIT: NYR303 less

FILE- In this Sept. 9, 2013 file photo made with a long exposure, a test of the twin beams of the Tribute in Light intersect with still-under construction Tower One in New York, as they rise behind the building ... more

Photo: Kathy Willens

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Memorial open on night of 9/11

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New York

The Sept. 11 memorial plaza will be open on the night of the attacks' anniversary this year, the first time the public will be able to visit ground zero on the commemoration date.

The plaza will be closed to the public during the remembrance ceremony and much of the rest of the day, but it will open from 6 p.m. to midnight for those who want to pay respects and view the twin beams called the Tribute in Light from an especially "meaningful vantage point," memorial President Joe Daniels said in an email Thursday to victims' families.

A symbolic shift for a site that was inaccessible to the public for years after the attacks, the plan reflects its increasing openness as more gets rebuilt.

The memorial plaza, with its massive reflecting pools etched with the names of the dead, opened in 2011. But to control crowds amid construction on the World Trade Center property, tickets and security screening were required until this spring. Since the underground museum opened in May, open access has been allowed during days and evenings at the plaza, which joins the streetscape of lower Manhattan even as it serves as a place of remembrance protected by police and security guards. Museum officials said security measures would be in place for the public hours Sept. 11.